Aircraft model
BEECH 95-C55
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Baron C55, from the first years of the long-nose 55 series. Beech lengthened the forward fuselage to add baggage space and improve the centre-of-gravity range, and fitted 285 hp Continentals. It cruises at 200 knots and carries over 2,200 lb, and the control harmony is what Baron owners talk about first.
It is an enthusiast's aeroplane with a professional's cost base: two six-cylinder Continentals to overhaul, two propellers, and a light-twin annual that runs several times a single's. The IO-520 has a documented crankcase cracking history on high-time engines. Single-engine climb is adequate rather than generous and asymmetric handling demands real currency, which is where light-twin accidents concentrate. Insurers want a multi-engine rating and usually annual recurrent training.
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- BEECH 95-C55
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Continental IO-520-C |
| Horsepower | 285 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1966 |
| Production end | 1967 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 200 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,100 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,700 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,670 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 73 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,400 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,400 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,225 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,409 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 5,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,075 lb |
| Usable fuel | 136 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 31.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $200,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,700 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $48,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $68,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 382 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 158 |
| Median year built | 1966.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 50.631 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 44.32 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 35 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 22.153 |
| Airworthiness directives | 7 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 158 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 158 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 158 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 1.8 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 8.1 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 6.4 of 103 |
| Support | 7.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 29.6 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.74 · 56 models in class.
- Severity: class median 33.33.
- Access: class median 2,812.25.
- Support: class median 57.
- Liquidity: class median 21.91.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.